Retirement Beckons for Lisa Leslie, Women's Basketball Biggest Star

It's hard to imagine the WNBA, or women's basketball really, without Lisa Leslie.

She was one of the three Olympians (along with Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo) who stood in front of the new league's logo back in 1996 when almost everybody else was joining the American Basketball League.

She was the one who missed a dunk in the league's inaugural game in 1997 and the first one to dunk in a game in 2003.

She is the league's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. She's been the league MVP three times. She owns the league record for Player of the Week awards with 14.

She's made nine trips to the playoffs, won two titles and been the Finals MVP in each series.

Oh, and she's won four Olympic gold medals as the centerpiece of the U.S. team for the past decade and a half. Now she's down to a limited number of games in her storied career and it's time to imagine a time without No. 9, the league's defining presence.

Leslie's Los Angeles Sparks made the WNBA playoffs, which open next week, and she's not yet much interested in reflecting on her legacy. Maybe later when confetti is falling from the rafters and there's a championship trophy in her hand.

"If I could write my ending, I will be overwhelmed with joy and emotion over winning a championship and anything else will be pretty much a heartbreak with me thinking it all over while I'm crying in the locker room," Leslie said Friday, the day of her final regular-season home game, including a celebration of her career.

She's struggling to fully embrace the celebration of her singular career.

"I have so many mixed emotions, it's hard to focus," Leslie said. "I hope this is fun for all of the people around me. But it's quite a balancing act to be soft and cuddly and warm about all of it, and then go out on the floor and be as fierce as I need to be."

Leslie's career, one that puts her among the greatest ever in the women's game, has been one big balancing act. Gracious and aggressive. Dominant and demure. Untouchable and accessible. Mother and iconic athlete.

Leslie, 37, has been nothing less than the face of women's basketball. And it will be tough to replace the face.

Is anybody in the game -- even its brightest young stars -- as recognizable in the mainstream as Leslie? Could anyone else have gone on the "Superstars" without drawing "who's that?" response from the audience?

Leslie's teammate Candace Parker is the heir apparent to her legacy, the total package of talent and charisma, savvy and sense of obligation to the women's game.

Leslie has passed the baton to Parker in many ways, talking about basketball, the importance of being a standard-bearer and motherhood.

Parker is a new mother learning how to juggle her career with motherhood. Leslie sat out the 2007 season after giving birth to her daughter Lauren.

Lauren is past her second birthday now and Leslie said she's looking forward to attending her gymnastics classes and going on summer vacation, skiing and snowboarding in the winter."I have no desire to play professionally beyond the end of this season. But I'm not ready for it to be over yet."

You know, "regular" stuff.

"Usually, my family goes to Tahoe every year and I go to the spa because I can't ski," Leslie said. "This is going to be fun for me."

Leslie said she will miss the camaraderie of her teammates, the rides of the bus, the bonding moments, but she has no plans to un-retire.

"I'm pretty sure this is it," Leslie said. "I have no desire to play professionally beyond the end of this season. But I'm not ready for it to be over yet."

Leslie said this season would be her last before it began, a farewell tour that has gone on quietly as things in the WNBA sometimes do.

But she's not going out quietly.

After missing 12 games with an injured knee, Leslie came back and has proven herself to be every bit the world-class talent she always was. She leads the team with a 15.9 points per game average and 6.9 rebounds a game.

"I can't complain, I've played so many years without an injury," Leslie said. "The best players always find a way to win."

Leslie's legacy in that regard is absolutely secure whether confetti falls or not.